


White Winter Snow

by MissCoppelia



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Blood and Gore, Dark Past, F/M, Minor Character Death, No Pregnancy, Past Abuse, Safe to read for those who are triggered by pregnancy, Vampires, Werewolves, Werewolves Turn Into Actual Wolves, playing fast and loose with some werewolf and vampire rules, some gore at the end, some softness and angst too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:08:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28425996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissCoppelia/pseuds/MissCoppelia
Summary: Rey finds a little cabin in the woods to hole up in, but trouble finds her faster than she expected.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 12
Kudos: 44
Collections: Reylo After Dark's Nightmare Before Christmas Exchange 2020





	White Winter Snow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Melusine11](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melusine11/gifts).



> From the prompt "snowy cabin in the woods, but a werewolf (or a monster of your choice) comes to visit." 
> 
> I hope you all (and especially you, Melusine) enjoy this! My first time writing werewolves and vampires ooooo

Rey slammed the door of her pickup and lugged the last of her things into the cabin, ready to settle into bed with a cozy fire going in the hearth. Her hands were already getting numb, and she was quite ready to hide from the world as the snow fell outside. 

She placed her bag of simple groceries on the counter and got to work on the fire. Luckily the owner had left a hefty pile of logs to use, and there was some kindling sitting just beside the fireplace. Within minutes, she had it going and set about getting comfortable. 

First thing was her wet boots. While Rey hated to be barefoot -even inside- when it wasn’t quite warm yet, they were only making her feet colder and needed time to dry. She set them in front of the fire, and then moved to the kitchen to find a pot for making hot cocoa. All she had was powdered milk and one of those little packets with too much sugar and marshmallows, but it’d be the perfect addition to her peanut butter and banana sandwich dinner.

Once her food was ready, she plopped down on the couch in front of the fireplace, warming her feet and happily munching away. She stayed there until she was warm and relaxed, finally pulling herself off the couch and into the bed.

The little bed in the corner was the only part of the cabin that wasn’t so nice. In fact, although the sheets and the room looked very clean, it smelled funny. Why that was, Rey couldn’t tell even after having thoroughly inspected the sheets and the mattress itself. It was old, but not dirty, and there was no trace of bed bugs or stains. There was only that strange, strong smell. But it didn’t matter. Rey could sleep anywhere, and it certainly wasn’t the worst thing she’d ever smelled in her life.

Her dreams were calm, uneventful, and full of falling snow until a sound permeated her consciousness and her mind snapped to attention. Rey didn’t open her eyes, assessing the threat. Her back was turned to whatever it was, facing the wall, so she couldn’t peek at it. She couldn’t quite place the sound yet, and not knowing what it was made her nervous. Her mind ran through a short list of possibilities. All she knew was that it wasn’t the vampires.

Whatever creature it was, it poked the back of her leg with a wet nose and huffed, sniffing around her. That gave Rey some clues, but not enough to paint the whole picture. If it was a bear, she’d have to move carefully, show it she was no threat. If it was something else, then she’d have to make herself as big and scary as she quickly as she could. 

It was good that her hand had stayed wrapped around the knife in her thigh holster as she slept. That gave her some reassurance. Slowly she pulled it from its sheath, careful to stay quiet and unmoving to the creature’s eyes. Under the covers, her other hand reached for her gun. 

“You’re not as quiet as you think you are, little one,” a voice growled from behind her. “Not to my ears.” 

Rey shot out from under the covers, gun cocked at the intruder and her knife ready to strike. In the moonlight, she could just make out the form of the largest wolf she had ever seen before, its fur black as night and its eyes like molten gold. 

It regarded her calmly, its eyes darting down to the weapons in her hands before rising back up to meet her gaze. She’d only ever read of werewolves, back in the compound’s library, but never expected to meet one. They were rare, according to the books, almost wiped out. 

“You wanna find out if these bullets are silver, wolf?” Her odds were good. Point blank range. Even if he sprang to action the moment she pulled the trigger, the bullet would enter his brain before he could tear her throat out.

The wolf paced up to the head of her bed, but Rey’s gun followed him. “This cabin belongs to me.”

It would explain the smell, Rey thought. 

“The only way I’m leaving is if you make me,” she growled.

The wolf’s eyebrows raised. “I do not wish to harm you, girl.” 

Rey’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not scared of you. I’ll shoot you right here and now, or cut you down if I have to.”

The wolf heaved a heavy breath, one that ended in a low, irritated growl.

“Fine. But this place is mine. Remember that.”

The wolf padded out the front door and into the snow, disappearing into the whiteness faster than Rey found comfortable. Once he was gone, she slammed the door shut, locked it, and pushed the heaviest dresser against it, just in case.

She kept her knife and gun by her side as she waited for an attack, the curtains wide open so she could see as much of her surroundings as possible. The shadows taunted her with their depths, tricking her into seeing monsters that weren’t there. Her tired eyes fought for sleep, but Rey willed herself to stay awake until dawn. When it was dawn, it would be safer. Even with the wolf.

Sure enough, the darkness gave way to greyness, and the greyness became soft rays of light, and Rey let herself slide under the covers and sleep. 

* * *

The sun was high in the sky by the time she woke up again, her heart pounding at some noise outside. Outside the window, a pile of snow finally gave way and fell from the roof onto the ground with a thud. 

Still, she stayed alert, watching the horizon for a predator. There were none, but her hand stayed gripped around the handle of her knife for a long time before she finally slipped out of bed. 

Rey knew the wolf was out there, watching, waiting, stalking her. Would he strike now or when she was asleep? Every noise from outside made her flinch as she made herself another peanut butter and banana sandwich, her hand ghosting over the hilt of her knife several times, just in case she needed to be ready.

She spent the afternoon reading the cheap little romance novel she’d managed to steal from a gas station, wishing she’d taken an interest in werewolves. There had been more books in the compound’s library, and she’d been a voracious reader, but her interest lay in learning of the world outside and of love, not in more monsters.

There weren’t too many ways to pass the time in the tiny cabin, which she had expected, but was boring nonetheless. She did push-ups and crunches and other light exercises to eat up time. Nothing too strenuous that would make her muscles sore, just something that would keep them limber and warm in case of attack.

She could probably hold her own against the wolf, she figured. After all, she’d not only managed to escape the compound, but kill 27 of the vampires who came after her. But part of her mind was still just as scared as ever.

When nightfall came, she grabbed her gun and moved the dresser away from the door so she could go out for more firewood. There was nothing on the horizon when she peered out into the darkness, so Rey gave up trying to look and turned to the pile of wood instead.

A soft thump sounded behind her.

Rey flipped around, gun in one had and the log in her other, ready to throw. The wolf was there again, just at the edge of the porch, looking at her, but not with any malice or threat.

“This someone you know?” he asked, pawing at the body he’d dropped onto the ground.

Her heart began to pound wildly as she realized it was a vampire. Dead, but still it must have been close if he’d found it. Her throat went drier than a desert. “Fuck.”

“They chasing you?” the wolf asked. 

Rey nodded, mutely, the beginnings of a new plan already forming her head. If she left now, she’d be exposed, but how much depended on whether this one had come alone. 

“Why?” 

Lifting her head, she saw that the wolf had settled into a seated position -making himself even less of a threat, even if he could still attack at any moment. Perhaps he truly did not mean her any harm, but Rey hadn’t gotten this far by trusting others easily. Her arms may have lowered, but her finger was still close to the trigger of her gun, just in case.

Her throat tight, she tried to gulp down her apprehension. The words didn’t come easy. She’d never said them outloud before to anyone. In truth, there hadn’t been anyone to tell. “They stole me when I was little, so I could feed them and eventually be bred.”

The wolf’s gaze turned down to the vampire at his feet, a low growl rolling out of his mouth. “Disgusting creatures. You did not deserve that.”  
  
Rey nodded quickly, trying to will away the pinpricks of tears at the corner of her eyes. Never in all her years did she imagine someone would sympathize. But now that someone had, she felt a wave of relief flood her senses and part of her wanted to break down sobbing like a child.  
  
“I assume more will come after you,” the wolf continued. “If you wish to stay here, I can offer you my protection.”

This time when she looked in the wolf’s eyes, there was only softness. “But- I threatened you! And broke into your cabin!”

He cocked his large head at her. “We are not like the vampires. We are part of nature and we follow its rules. We don’t kill except for food or self-defense.”  
  
“But I was threatening to-”

“Your bullets are not silver,” he said. “And if I had tossed you out into the cold night, you would not have survived. Either the cold or your pursuers would have gotten you.”

Rey’s mouth dropped open, unsure of what to say. She’d never met someone who’d put her safety before their own. 

“The only thing I ask is that you let me come in and wash up, eat a hot meal perhaps. It’s not wise for me to stay in wolf form for more than a few days.” 

“Why?” she managed to eek out.

The wolf raised its eyebrows at her. “The vampires didn’t teach you? When you stay in one shape too long, you can forget your true form.”

“Oh,” Rey said, a blush beginning to color her cheeks. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” 

The wolf grunted. “No matter. I had been in human form only hours before you broke in.”

After he disposed of the body, Rey let the wolf back into the little cabin. She’d already picked up enough wood to keep a fire going all day and night, so she headed to the fireplace to light it.

“Don’t turn around until I say so,” he warned her as she put down fresh kindling. “It’s not a pretty sight and I’ll be buck naked until I can get some clothes on.”

So Rey kept her eyes down as she stoked the fire to life, not turning her head as a pair of pale thighs approached the closet beside her. They were not the sort of white, almost rotten-looking skin of the vampires, but plump and muscled and hairy. Rey wondered to herself if the wolf was a good hunter, and how he looked when he moved silently through the forest. 

“Name’s Ben by the way,” he said, pulling a shirt over his broad chest. “You can look up now.”

“Rey,” she answered, not ready to look just yet. She had never been around another human like this, certainly not in such a strangely intimate way. 

“Well, thanks for letting me back in, Rey,” he said, sitting back on the couch as she made sure the fire had caught right. “It’s nice to be inside.” 

She stood, finally turning and looking to the figure on the couch as he pulled socks and boots on. He was tall and dark-haired, just like his black fur. Though he wasn’t looking up at her, she just knew that staring into his golden eyes would be a different sort of danger than anything she’d experienced before. 

“You like rabbit?” Ben asked as tugged his other boot on. “I got some in the freezer.” 

“I’ll eat just about anything,” she told him. In truth, she hadn’t touched the food in there because she knew nothing about cooking. And everything was raw ingredients, not the sort of hasty meals she could make from stolen gas station fare.

“Great,” Ben looked up at her and smiled a great big smile that made Rey’s heart flutter. 

She felt dizzy from it as she watched Ben start cooking. He made it seem so simple, and Rey wondered if it really was until he began flipping vegetables in the pan as if it was nothing.  
  
Her modest hope turned into silent contemplation. At the compound she’d been spoiled like a child, but only where it suited the vampires’ interests. She wasn’t a good companion if she couldn’t read, so they taught her. Her blood would be thin and weak if they didn’t feed her well, so she was always fed strange concoctions meant to make her tastier.

But Ben wasn’t interested in her blood, her flesh, or her body. He just wanted a hot meal and she was there too, and so he made enough for them both. 

“Tomorrow we can go into town, get some more food,” he said as the rabbit simmered in a pot of wine and herbs and potatoes. “Anything you like in particular?” 

A curl of panic spread through her gut. “But they’ll see me. They watch the cameras. The vampires, I mean.” 

Ben raised his eyebrows. “Do they? No wonder you came all the way out here.” 

Rey nodded and pulled herself into a ball on the couch, watching the fire instead of Ben. She wanted to go more than anything, but if she did, the vampires would follow her back to the cabin. And if she did that, she might wear out her welcome, and-

“Don’t worry, I’ll rip their throats out,” he said, smiling. 

“But-”

His teeth flashed in the light as his grin grew wider. “I said don’t worry. I have my own reasons for wanting those bloodsuckers dead.”

Ben’s rabbit stew was delicious. So delicious that Rey wanted to cry right then and there, but she forced herself not to. It was no good getting comfortable. She’d only just made a truce with him, there was no telling when he’d grow tired of having to hunt vampires and cook for her. No telling who he really was, who he could become when provoked. 

But despite her misgivings, they did settle into an easy routine, Ben hunting most of the night and Rey keeping watch the hours he didn’t hunt. During the daylight hours, they’d walk through the woods together, enjoying the pristine snow and the warm sun. 

After Rey grew more comfortable, they went into town for groceries and more books. Ben even bought a board game for them to play when they got bored of walking or reading. He even began to teach her how to cook, though all she did was slowly chop vegetables and wash dishes so far.

The nights wore on and with them came more vampires, the numbers increasing slowly. He didn’t tell her anything beyond how many he’d killed when he tapped on the window to be let in.

But one stormy night, Ben returned panting hard. As Rey pushed back the dresser, she saw a large, bloody gash across his face, and unlike other nights he did not tell her to turn away so he could shift. He merely flopped down in front of the fire and groaned. The dresser back in place across the door, Rey sheathed her knife and ran to his side.  
  
“What happened?”

Ben grunted. “There were over 50 this time. Guess they got tired of losing, so they thought they’d try to overwhelm me. They brought silver bullets and everything.”

Rey gulped down her apprehension. “How many did you kill?”  
  
“All of them,” he laughed. “Or most of them, at least. There was someone watching from a distance, but they disappeared once I started to track them. It’s funny, all those vampires and none of them can hit a target.”

She ran her hand down the rough fur of his neck, careful to stay far from the wound. “But you were still hurt.”

With a sigh, he tilted his head toward her hand. “Some fool brought a silver sword and got close enough to graze me before I bit his head off. There’s a first aid kit in the closet.”

Rey got up to get it, her mind swirling with worry. If there were more than 50 vampires tonight, then tomorrow there would be more than 100, maybe even 200. Ben wouldn’t be able to handle them all. Even if she hadn’t worn out her welcome yet, she knew what she had to do.

She sat down in front of Ben with the kit and he gently placed his head in her lap. He flinched and growled as she cleaned his wound and applied a cream to it, but when she was done, he laid still and just let her pet him. 

It was relaxing, just touching him and enjoying the warmth of the fire, even though the weight of her decision weighed heavy on her. She’d miss this, miss him.  
  
“I’ll leave in the morning,” she finally said.

Ben raised his head quickly, his brow knit with concern. “But-”  
  
Rey shook her head. “If this keeps up, then they’ll just send more and more each night until they finally kill you. I won’t let that happen.” 

He stared at her for a moment. “Rey, they’ll kill me anyway. They want my kind gone. We should stick together.”  
  
Tears began to form at the edges of her eyes and her throat grew tight. “But I can’t stay here. If I stay, then they’ll just keep coming.” 

A rough tongue came out to lap at her cheeks. “Then let me go with you. We’re stronger together, we could find others of my kind.” 

Rey pressed her forehead to the side of his snoot. “Why? You’re only putting yourself in danger.”

“Because I’m in love with you, Rey.” 

Her small gasp was hidden in his fur, but Rey knew he heard it nonetheless because he curled his head around her, bringing them into a sort of hug. The best he could do without human arms, anyway.

“Even if you don’t care for me that way, I’ll go with you,” he said, his voice a little shakier. “I won’t let them hurt you ever again, got it?” 

Rey nodded into his fur, her arms wrapped tight around his neck. Her chest was tight, bursting with warmth and love and all the things she wanted to tell him in that moment, if only air would come into her lungs faster and let her speak. 

“How do you become a werewolf?” she finally managed, throat hoarse from her tears.

Ben lifted his head off her shoulder and pulled back to search her face with his amber eyes. “You have to be bitten, but nowadays we prefer not to do that, or born one. If we find a willing-”

He stopped, realizing her meaning, and Rey licked her chapped lips nervously as she held his gaze. “I want that. I want you to bite me.” 

His jaw fell open, and Rey knew he was about to protest, but she continued on. “The vampires want me as pure as possible. If you turn me, then they won’t want me anymore.”

His brow furrowed before he growled at the pain. “I can’t. It’s not right.”

Tears threatened to spill over for a different reason now, and Rey tried her best to hold back her anger. “Why not?”  
  
“It’s for those who want to be lifelong mates, Rey,” Ben said softly. “If I bite you then we’re bonded forever. And I care about you so much, but I can’t do that to you this soon.”

“But I love you too,” Rey pleaded, feeling foolish and childish and insecure in the face of his denial.

“Rey,” he whined. “There’s so much you don’t know.”  
  
Rey grit her teeth and stood. “I don’t care! What if I want to run in the woods with you? What if I want to hunt with you? What if I want to rip out those stupid vampires’ throats just as much as you do? You think you’re going to chain me down to a life I don’t want, but all I see is a chance to finally be free, to be stronger, a chance to be with you!”

When he looked up at her, silent and pleading, she growled in frustration and threw herself on the bed, her back to him as she covered herself up with blankets. Her tears were silent, but fast and she wished they’d stop before her pillow was soaking wet. 

A moment later, the bed groaned with the weight of another body.

“Being a wolf is kind of shitty sometimes. It hurts every time you change. You’re always being bitten by fleas. You always smell funny even if you scrub yourself with soap twice a day. Once a month you’re incredibly horny and hungry, and it’s so hard to control that you have to stop everything and lock yourself in a room so you don’t hurt anyone. The vampires want you dead. Most humans that find out want you dead too. Or they want you dead because they think you ate their chickens.”

He laid his head on her shoulder, his warmth cooling her anger. “Practically everyone I know’s been killed. You wouldn’t be escaping the vampires. Not completely. Being a wolf is lonely like that.”

“Living with the vampires was lonely. And being on the run from them was lonely too,” Rey sniffed. “Until I came here, I felt so alone.” 

“You’re not alone anymore,” Ben’s voice rumbled.  
  
“Neither are you,” she told him, a smile coming to her face unbidden.  
  
“It’s just the basics, but I at least wanted you to know the bad parts,” he mumbled. “Before we, or rather I… do it.” 

Rey turned to face him, her heart beating fast. “You’ll bite me?” 

Ben nodded. “If it’s what you really want.”

She wanted to cry all over again, but this time with joy.

* * *

At his instruction, she removed her clothes, covering herself with a sheet just out of nervousness before Rey told him to turn around. Carefully he placed his jaw around her neck, his hot breath sending thrills throughout her whole body.

“It’ll hurt,” he said softly.

Rey nodded and steeled herself, digging a hand into his fur. She was more excited than scared, but she still flinched as his sharp teeth pressed into his flesh and broke skin. It was hard not to squirm as he went deeper, pressing in so hard that Rey thought he might try to bite through her shoulder completely, but then he pulled his mouth off her and began to lap at the blood spilling down her clavicle.

For a moment she thought that would be it, that she was done with the pain and the rest would come naturally. Then her heart seized and suddenly spread throughout the rest of her body.  
  
“Breathe,” Ben whispered as her whole body tensed. “Relax as much as you can and just feel what’s happening to you.” 

Rey could only whimper and clench her fist in his fur as her body seized and bent itself in strange new ways until her hands were no longer hands and she realized the transformation was complete. 

The things that were her hands were now covered in a mix of silvery and brown fur, and Rey was almost surprised that when she thought to flex them that the paws responded. She tried to sit up like a human, but found that her body was (of course) no longer human, and so it needed to be folded differently. 

She looked up at Ben who stared at her with an amused sort of smile, which was right about the time she realized she could both hear and smell two rabbits chittering away about a thousand feet away from the cabin.  
  
“How do you feel?”  
  
“Amazing,” Rey breathed. “This is amazing.” 

“Wait til you start running,” He nudged her, encouraging her to get up on her new legs. “You’re going to love it.”

He hopped off the bed gracefully and Rey tried to follow him, earning her a loud laugh when she fumbled and fell. Ben licked at her face in apology and nudged the door open. Her first real steps were awkward and careful, but by the time her feet hit the fresh snow, she could feel herself start to get the hang of things. 

Outside the first rays of dawn broke over the trees and made the snow glisten. Something tugged at her heart, and moments later she was knee deep in the fresh powder, running like mad. The air streaming past her face didn’t feel cold at all, instead she felt invigorated by it and dared to leap over a bank of snow. She didn’t stick the landing, but she also didn’t mind rolling around for a moment either.  
  
Ben caught up with her then, and licked at her until she got up.  
  
“Run with me?” he asked, and they did. 

He taught her lots of things about being a wolf that day. How to howl, how to move quietly through the woods, how to stalk prey; and when they returned to the cabin and to their human forms Ben kissed her. It did not take Rey very long to learn how to kiss, or do many other things that she’d only read about before. 

* * *

Over the next few days, they laid low and spent the daylight hours practicing on whatever prey they could find in the woods, refilling Ben’s freezer in no time at all. 

When he felt like she was ready, they went out into the night and waited for the vampires to arrive. Just like Ben said, there was one standing apart from the rest of them, shouting orders at the lesser creatures he had sired.  
  
Rey’s lips curled at the sight of him, but she did not growl, just like Ben had taught her. As the vampires fanned out looking for the wolf and the girl, they made their move, quickly overwhelming the elderly vampire.  
  
“Nice to see you again, Snoke,” Rey snarled as she stood on his chest. “How do you like my new fur coat?” 

Snoke’s gnarled face lifted in surprise that quickly turned into a sneer. “Rey. Such a pity. You’ve thrown your life away for a pathetic existence living in the dirt.”

Ben’s jaws snapped a mere inch from Snoke’s throat. “At least she gets to decide what she does with her life now, bloodsucker.”

Rey let her grin grow wide so that Snoke could see every single sharp, shiny tooth. “He’s right. And I like it so much more than being stuck in that rotten cave with every luxury your dirty money could buy.”  
  
At her words, Snoke bared his fangs and hissed. “Stupid girl! I gave you everything!” 

That made Rey light up with rage. As she sank her teeth into his throat she thought about the long, long years spent waiting to be rescued, hoping that something would change until she realized she was the only one who’d bring that change about. 

That made it all the more satisfying when she ripped into Snoke’s heart and wailing cries came out from the forest - all his sires losing their life force alongside their master. She spat out the black and rotten flesh and stepped back to admire her handiwork with Ben.

But before long they returned to the little cabin and slept very, very deeply indeed.


End file.
